The present invention relates to ink-jet printheads that are configurable for use with a particular ink supply of a plurality of ink supplies. More particularly, the present invention relates to an ink-jet printhead and a fluid configuration portion for configuring the ink-jet printhead for connection to the selected ink supply for accomplishing ink-jet printing.
Ink-jet printers frequently make use of an ink-jet printhead mounted to a carriage that is moved back and fourth across a print media, such as paper. As the printhead is moved across the print media, a control system activates the printhead to deposit or eject, ink droplets onto the print media to form images and characters.
One type of ink-jet printer previously used makes use of a replaceable ink cartridge. The ink cartridge includes a printhead and an ink reservoir that are contained within a cartridge housing. When the ink reservoir is depleted of ink or a different type of ink is required for a particular print media the entire ink cartridge is replaced.
Another type of ink-jet printer, disclosed in patent application Ser. No. 08/566,521 assigned to the assignee of the present invention, makes use of an ink-jet printhead and an ink supply that can each be separately replaced. For this type of ink-jet printer the ink supply is spaced from the printhead. The printhead is mounted to the carriage and ink is provided to the printhead by way of a flexible fluid interconnect extending between the ink supply and the printhead. For this type of arrangement, the ink supply container can be replaced without replacing the printhead. The printhead is then replaced at the printhead end of life.
For this type of printing system where the printhead is separately replaceable from the ink container it is crucial that the printhead form a reliable fluid interconnect with the supply of ink. The fluid interconnects between the printhead and the printing system should be capable of repeated connection and disconnnections without ink spillage. Inks used in ink-jet printing typically contain components such as surfactants that when spilled on electrical components within the printing system tend to produce reliability problems within the printing system.
In addition, this fluid interconnect between the printhead and printing system should be capable of providing adequate ink flow rates while minimizing the introduction of air into the fluid conduit. Air introduced into the fluid conduit accumulates in the inkjet printhead. If the accumulated air in the printhead becomes too great the ability of the printhead to regulate the backpressure of the printhead can be hindered tending to result in printhead drool or a reduction in print quality.
The printhead fluid interconnect should be suitable for use in a wide variety of printing systems. Some printing systems place a high premium on size. The reduction in the size of the fluid interconnect allows the printing system to be more compact. Therefore, the fluid interconnects between the printhead and the ink supply should be capable of being compact for use in printing applications where size is a premium.
Finally, it is crucial that inks having different ink parameters, such as ink color and ink family, be prevented from interacting in a manner which can reduce the quality of the output image. For example, inks of different colors must not be intermixed. In addition, inks from different ink families must not be intermixed. Therefore, the printhead should be capable of being configured for connection not only for the particular printing system, but also, the printhead should be capable of being configured for connection to the selected ink type or ink color within the printing system. This fluid interconnect system should also be cost effective and easily manufactured to reduce the manufacturing costs of the overall printing system.